Tuesday, March 31, 2009

We've warned you before about what happens when you search on "Reston personals" on Craigslist -- let's just say we don't mean ads saying things like "looking for a sensitive partner who likes midnight strolls through South Reston and isn't afraid to cry when the DRB violation comes in the mail." That would be a cakewalk compared to what one Reston woman has been through:

First came the phone calls: men, strangers, telling her they'd seen her ad on Craigslist and were eager to come over for her promised "casual encounter."

Later that week, men started showing up at her door in Reston, ready for an evening of random sex. "I'm here from Craigslist," they'd say. "You've been set up," she would tell them. By that time, she'd figured out what was happening: Someone was posting offers in her name on online message boards, with her home address.

She called Fairfax police, who tried stepping up patrols, even posting an officer inside her apartment. Still, the men kept coming. Both the 65-year-old and the police say they had a good idea who was behind this cruel attack, but despite months of effort, nothing has been done.

Her nightmare has been going on for 18 months. She even arrived at work one day -- she was in sales at the Eddie Bauer store in Reston Town Center -- to learn that the manager had received more than 100 phone calls, all from men seeking an assignation.

One man, who asked not to be named because he's married, confirmed that he responded to "a lewd message" and showed up at her house. The man has given her all of the e-mails he had from the episode and says he hopes he can help "expose the culprit behind these cruel pranks." But the best police say they can do is to tell her to ignore the culprit.

First, ick? Second, it's nice to see the married guy who was looking for a little action on the side via Craigslist is willing to help out. There are still some true gentlemen out there.